Oregano's pleasantly fragrant, pink to purple labial flowers form seed heads after they have withered. They contain numerous tiny, elongated oval, dark brown nuts. You can grow numerous new oregano plants from these seeds.
How do I sow oregano successfully?
Sowing oregano is best done by spreading the seeds in potting soil from February onwards, pressing them lightly and spraying them without covering them with soil. They germinate after 14 to 28 days at least 20°C and plenty of light. They can be put outdoors in May.
The best time to sow oregano
Since oregano requires temperatures of at least twenty degrees to germinate, you should preferably sow it indoors or in a heated greenhouse. If you would like to release the plants outdoors in spring, you can start growing them in February. You should wait until May before sowing directly into the herb garden.
This is how oregano is sown:
Oregano is a light germinator and the seeds must therefore never be covered with soil. The following approach has proven successful:
- Put the growing soil in a peat soaking pot (€6.00 on Amazon) or a small growing pot and press it down lightly.
- Use a sprayer to moisten the soil well, but do not completely soak it.
- Spread seeds over the soil and press gently.
- Spray carefully. Make sure that the seeds are not washed away.
- To create a greenhouse climate, place a clear plastic bag over the planter.
- Place seedlings on a very bright and sunny windowsill.
Caring for seedlings
- Aerate the seedlings daily to prevent mold growth.
- Remove moldy seeds and soil immediately.
- Moisten the soil regularly, but avoid complete soaking.
Oregano takes a relatively long time to germinate. Only after about 14 to 28 days do the plants' cotyledons appear. Now open the cover more often so that the small plants get plenty of light. Rotate the pots every day so that the seedlings do not face the sun too much.
Prick out oregano
As soon as the second pair of leaves appears above the cotyledons, you can prick out the oregano. Loosen the soil with the pricking stick and carefully dig out the small plants. Pricking out damages the oregano roots somewhat; However, this is not a bad thing and encourages it to grow more vigorously. The plants are placed in pots with potting soil into which you have pressed a sufficiently deep hole for the roots using the pricking stick. Continue to care for the oregano plants on the windowsill until they have developed strong enough to move outdoors.
